Posted on Fri, May. 29, 2009
PECO Commits To Green Energy
Vivi Gorman, GREENandSAVE.com
PECO has signed five-year agreements to purchase renewable energy credits that, along with similar pledges in 2008, will make PECO the first utility in Pennsylvania to buy renewable energy credits matching the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards (AEPS) requirements.
In a May 20 press release, the company said its commitment serves to prevent carbon dioxide emissions that would be the equivalent of removing 60,000 cars from the road per year.
Denis O’Brien, President and CEO of PECO, said “As a utility leader, it is critically important that we support the continued development of new renewable energy sources and promote clean energy technologies.�
Under the AEPS Act , by 2011 3.5 percent of the energy sold to PECO customers must originate from renewable resources such as wind, low-impact hydro, methane, geothermal, biomass, or fuel cells. As part of a competitive bid process for purchasing, the winning bidders were Iberdrola Renewables Inc. and Exelon Generation Company LLC.
PECO also has plans to purchase solar renewable energy credits that would power nearly 1,000 homes for 10 years, install a green roof at the company’s Center City Philadelphia headquarters; open its first “green building� in West Chester, increase use of hybrid and biodiesel vehicles, support community environmental projects, provide enhanced tools and programs to for customers to use energy more efficiently.
PECO is based in Philadelphia and serves 1.6 million electric and nearly 500,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania.
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